Across the threshold of the courtyard, we reentered the palace and strode down a brightly lit corridor that sported the same white and gold hues as the outside of the building. Muffled voices filled my eardrums the farther we walked, and though most were unrecognizable, one stood out.
Delani.
Chapter
Two
As if she sensed me, Delani’s slim figure came racing out of a door to my right. She threw herself around me, her arms clutching my neck so tight that I couldn't draw a breath.
“Oh my gods, how I have missed you!” she squealed, squeezing even tighter.
“I bet I missed you more,” I choked out with the small amount of air I had conserved. Her hair covered my face and I soaked in the familiar scent of her berry shampoo.
She released me, and I studied her features that seemed to have changed so much since I last saw her. Her hair had grown a couple of inches and she had a few new freckles on the tip of her nose.
Tears tried to form in the corner of my eyes. “I thought you were gone.”
“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” she choked out, her own eyes turning cloudy. “Your boyfriend is hot,” she added with a one-sided smirk.
Typical Delani.
“Not much has changed with you, I see. Still have the same thought process:men.”
She bit back a laugh then rose to her toes to glance over my shoulders. “So…you met Dad?”
“Yep.” My voice lowered. “Doesn’t this seem…weirdto you?”
“Oh, absolutely. Weird as all hell. But I’ve had a bit longer to adjust than you have. Not much, but give it a few days. It will make all the difference, I promise.”
“I’m not so sure I’ll adjust to all of this in a few days. I still don’t know half of what's going on.”
She squeezed my upper arm in comfort. “I know it’s a lot. And with Mom being gone…” she swallowed what was likely a knot lodged in her throat, “it’s just a lot.”
Salty tears swarmed my eyes, blazing hot as they tumbled down my cheeks. “I can’t believe you're actually alive.” I threw myself back into her arms, not pulling away until the light surrounding us darkened.
A shadowy figure appeared behind her, a smile dawned on his chiseled, lightly freckled face.
“Maevey baby! Glad to see you out of bed. It was beginning to be a little too funeral-like in there with all the flowers and shit,” Sawyer quipped.
Delani stepped aside, allowing Sawyer to pull me into a hug.
His chin idled on the top of my head, his palm settling across the apex of my spine. “Are you doing okay?”
What a loaded question.
My head tossed ever so slightly, just enough for him to notice. “Not even close,” I whispered into his embrace.
“It’s a lot to take in,” he agreed, retreating and releasing a heavy breath. He gestured for me to follow him the way he came. “Come on.”
I looked back at Archer, silently asking him for approval—not that I needed it.
“Go catch up with everyone. We’ll talk more later,” he said.
With a nod and a soft grin, I followed Sawyer through a set of double-doors, then into a dimly lit room where I was met by Pia’s death-grip of a hug. Kohen followed in pursuit, squeezing me harder than he ever had before.
Meanwhile, Sebastian was tucked away in the corner, lounging in a chair and flipping through a book that I assumed he pulled free from the shelf behind him. I imagined his silence was his way of giving me space. Or maybe he was pissed at me, too, for some unknown reason.
I glanced around the fully furnished room at all of my closest friends. The walls were an emerald green and the brown leather couch perfectly accented the woven chairs across from it.
